Hypodermic syringe needle guard

ABSTRACT

A guard for a hypodermic syringe needle which keeps the extremities and particularly the hands well away from the syringe to prevent accidental punctures with contaminated needles. The needle guard is in the form of a cylindrical cap which slides over the needle having a manipulating device to remove and replace the guard while keeping the hands well away from the needle. In one embodiment the manipulating device is in the form of a flexible handle for removing the cap. As an alternative the end of the needle guard can be flared to provide a flat surface for receiving an adhesive. The needle is then removed by pressing the adhesive base to any convenient surface. The needle guard is replaced by simply inserting the needle in the guard and snapping the guard from the surface by giving the syringe a quick twist when the cap is fully seated over the needle.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.796,280 filed Nov. 8, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,330.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hypodermic syringes and more particularlyrelates to methods to prevent accidental puncture with contaminatedneedles on hypodermic syringes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hypodermic syringes of known constructions employ a cylindrical barrelhaving a needle covered with an end cap. To use the syringe, the end capis slipped off and the needle inserted into a patient to inject a fluidwith a plunger or aspirate blood and other bodily fluids back into thesyringe. After use the cap is replaced on the needle and both arediscarded. A not infrequent problem with these devices however is theaccidental puncture of the medical attendant using the syringe whenreplacing the cap. Often this occurs when the cap is being replaced andrequires care to be sure the needle is properly inserted in the cap. Ifa distraction occurs the user can easily miss the entrance to the capand puncture the finger or some other portion of the hand or arm. Sincethese needles are frequently used on patients that have serious bloodborne diseases the contamination can be transferred to the medicalattendant infecting them with the disease of the patient. This can haveserious side affects if the disease is an infectious disease such ashepatitis, aids or other infectious diseases. It would be advantageousif some method could be provided for replacement of a protective cap onthe needle while keeping the extremities and particularly the hands wellaway from the needle point.

Examples of caps for hypodermic syringe needles are shown in U.S. Pat.Nos. 2,408,323, 2,571,653, 3,073,306, 3,527,216, 3,890,971, 4,355,822,4,373,526 and 4,425,120, all show a slideable shield to protect theneedle on a hypodermic syringe. Each of these devices is quite complexand requires special manufacture of the hypodermic syringe. To date noneof these devices appear to be on the market for reasons which should beapparent from an examination of the patents. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,825,003,3,976,069 and 4,249,530 all show caps which act as needle guards. Noneof the devices appear to show a simple, easy to manufacture protectivecap which can be used with existing syringes and needles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a protective cap orcovering for the needle of a hypodermic syringes to prevent infectionfrom accidental punctures of medical personnel using the syringe.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide the above features inthe simplest, most economical manner with a device substantiallyadaptable to existing syringes and needles. In one embodiment the usualend cap fitted over the hypodermic needle has an arm extension forremoving and replacing the cap.

In another modified version of the present invention the needle cap,fitted over the hypodermic needle, has its base or end of the capflattened to be wider than the sheath diameter that receives the needleto provide a stable base. The flattened base is provided with bondedadhesive material. The adhesive tip or end as thus provided allows theend cap to be removed from the needle by pressing the adhesive on thebase to any conveniently flat surface. The needle attached to thesyringe now can easily and safely be returned to the needle cap whilekeeping the fingers or hand from being near the pointed end of theneedle. That is, the cap need not be held with the other hand. Theneedle is simply guided by the hand holding the syringe into the end capaperture until fully seated and the cap removed from the surface with aquick twist and pull. Thus the serious problem of being stuck withcontaminated needles is avoided.

The syringe may now be used in the usual fashion of injecting the needleand discharging the contents of the syringe through the needle.Additionally the needle and end cap may be removed from the syringe anddiscarded if medical personnel are to perform an arterial blood gasprocedure that requires the removal of the needle from the syringe tofacilitate introduction of a blood sample into a blood gas analyzer.

As a further alternative, a slideable sheath or sleeve could be providedwhich slips over existing syringes and protective end caps which remainsin an extended position until ready for use. The sleeve is then slidback to expose the protective end cap which can be pulled off anddiscarded or put back in place if desired. The end cap may also have abroad end or base with an adhesive allowing removal with one hand bypressing the adhesive against a convenient flat surface. The syringe maynow be used and after use the sleeve extended to cover and protectagainst any punctures from an exposed contaminated needle with the capreplaced if desired. The advantage of the latter design is that thesleeve can be simply provided as an accessory to existing syringes whichsimply slides over and snaps onto the syringe barrel or cylinder. Atear-off protective cover closes the end of the sleeve. This seals theentire area around the needle and protective end cap. Preferrably thesleeve is adaptable to existing, in use syringes with end caps while atthe same time providing the medical attendant or user from protectionagainst a puncture with a contaminated needle. Thus in each of theembodiments described above these features are met with a simplicity ofdesign which minimizes their cost while maximizing their convenience andprotection.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide ahypodermic syringe needle guard which is simple in construction and easyto use.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a needle guardwhich does not deviate substantially from existing technology for needleprotection. Instead it uses the existing technology to provide a needleguard by adapting generally used needle guards for protection by addinga small feature or adding a part which does not modify the existingstructure.

Yet another object is to provide a needle protective end cap for asyringe with a flat adhesive tipped end which can be removed andreplaced in a one hand operation.

The above and other features of the invention will be more fullyunderstood from the following detailed description and the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a very simple cap protection deviceaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken at 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a alternate embodiment of the invention in which the end caphas an adhesive tip.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate removal of the protective end cap of theembodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view taken at 6--6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the adhesive tipped end cap of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view taken at 8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention including aslideable protectable sleeve in conjunction with protective end cap.

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of the device of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a detailed sectional view taken at 12 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The simplest form of protection for a needle guard is illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment the protective end cap is in the formof an elongated cap 10 having a funnel shaped collar 12 and armextension 14. Cap 10 has a hollow interior at 16 which tightly fits neck18 at the upper end of needle 20.

Medical personnel using the hypodermic syringe grasps arm extension 14or cap 10 to pull the protective cap away from needle 20 exposing theneedle for use. After use the cap is replaced by holding extension 14 sothat funnel shaped collar 12 prevents mishaps by assuring that the endof needle 20 is guided into cavity 16 in the cap.

The embodiment in FIG. 1 is simple in construction but has thedisadvantage that arm extension or handle 14 extends outward from thecap making, packaging, shipping and storing a problem. For this reasonthe alternate embodiment of FIGS. 3 through 8 were conceived. In thisembodiment a tubular cap 24 is provided to cover needle 20 attached tobody 22 of the syringe. Cap 24 is held in place by a tight frictionalfit at 26.

As indicated previously a continuing serious problem of contaminationoccurs to medical personnel when replacing the cap on needles. Theembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 allows the user to hold the cap by tab 14and insert the needle 20. However, even in this embodiment there is thedanger of puncture because one hand must be in the general vicinity ofthe needle when replacing the cap. Since it obviously would beadvantageous if the cap can be replaced by plunging the needle into thecap without having any hand or extremity anywhere near the end of theneedle the embodiments of FIGS. 3 through 12 were conceived.

Referring to FIGS. 3 through 6 cap 24 is provided with a tightfrictional fit at 26 to be secure on needle 20. However, in thisembodiment end portion 28 is provided with a substantially flattenedcircular base 30 to which an adhesive 32 is secured by bonding material34. This is shown in greater detail in the partial sectional view ofFIG. 8. Cap 24 is flattened and broadened at 30 to provide a flat smoothsurface for attachment of an adhesive 32 bonded at 34 to the baseprovided by flattened area 30. The adhesive 32 itself may if desiredalso serve as the bonding agent. However, it is preferable that theadhesive 32 be the type of material that will stick to almost anysurface but can be easily lifted off. Adhesives that can temporarily bepressed to fasten something to a surface but easily removed are readilyavailable in the art. An adhesive such as a hot melted resin, or arubber based tape would be suitable. Also if desired a peel-offprotective covering (not shown) can be placed over the end of theadhesive material 32 until ready for use. The covering would serve toretain the adhesiveness of the material for a substantial period oftime.

When using the syringe 22 having the adhesive mounted cap 24, the cap issimply pressed on any, surface, indicated at 36 preferably flat and theneedle 20 withdrawn. The adhesive 32 is sufficiently sticky to retainthe cap upright on the surface to which it is attached. Suitableadhesives will stick to almost any surface available. Preferably anadhesive which will temporarily stick to blankets, bedding ornightstands available in all medical facilities will be used. Afterusing the syringe the attentant would simply replace the needle byplunging the needle 20 into the open end 38 of the cap 24. This issimply a reverse of the process for removing the needle. A slighttwisting or snapping motion will easily separate the adhesive 32 fromthe surface 36. Thus in the manner described medical personnel do nothave to hold the cap 24 when replacing it on the needle 20. Hands andarms can thus be kept well away from the tip of the needle 20 preventingaccidental puncture and contamination.

Another embodiment which utilizes the principals of the embodiment ofFIGS. 3 through 8 is illustrated in FIGS. 9 through 12. The advantage ofthis embodiment is that it can be adapted to a standard syringe having asnap-on protective end cap 40 covering needle 42 attached to standardsyringe body 44 of a hypodermic syringe or cap having an adhesive end 45as described in the embodiments of FIGS. 3 through 8. The cap 40 may bea simple pull-off type cap supplied with standard hypodermic disposalsyringes. To this configuration is added sleeve 46 having opening 48covered by a adhesive secured membrane 50 as can be seen more clearly inFIG. 14. The sleeve 46 is a simple hollow cylinder having a grippingflange 52 at the upper end and aperture 48 sufficiently large to clearthe protective cap 40 when the sleeve 46 is retracted. The sleeve issecured to the cylindrical body 44 of the syringe by a circumferentialribs 54 and 56 on the inside surface of sleeve 46. Upper circumferentialrib 56 frictionally retains sleeve 46 on the body 44 while lower rib 54retains sleeve 46 in an extended position shown in FIG. 12 covering endcap and needle 40 and 42, respectively.

Alternatively cap 40 can be modified to provide a flared base 41 towhich is added an adhesive 45 bonded at 43 as before. The flared base 41should be small enough in diameter to easily pass through aperture 48after removal of membrane cover 50.

In use sheath or sleeve 46 is drawn back on hypodermic syringe body 44after removal of protective membrane 50 by pulling tab 58. Protectiveend cap 40 may now be removed in the usual manner and either discardedor retained for replacement after use if desired.

The needle is now exposed for injection and discharging the contents ofthe syringe or for withdrawing fluid from a patient. After use, sleeve46 is slid downward by grasping and pushing downward on flange 52 untilrib 54 passes beyond the end of body 44 with the sleeve completelycovering and protecting needle 42. Needle cap 40 can be safely insertedthrough the opening 48 and pushed back on needle 42 if the syringe is tobe used in a procedure such as an arterial blood gas analysis.

If the adhesive end 45 is used cap 40 may be readily stuck to anyconvenient surface 60 for later replacement by inserting the needle 42into the open end of the cap 40. A quick twist on the syringe willseparate the adhesive 45 from the surface 60 and the sheath 46 may nowbe extended to cover the needle and cap as shown in FIG. 9.

As can be seen in the last embodiment the sleeve is adaptable toexisting syringes by simply inserting the sheath over the existing endcap engaging the body of the syringe. This makes the device veryeconomical to manufacture and adapt to existing syringes havingprotective needle end caps 40.

Thus there has been disclosed a tipped needle guard embodimentmanipulating device in the form of a needle cap whose base is wider thanthe cylindrical body of the barrel and has a flat flared end surfaceupon which is bonded a suitable adhesive material such as a hot meltresin, or a rubber base tape. The clinician after having removed the endcap from the syringe can proceed to temporarily attach the end cap toany convenient surface such as wood, metal or clothing complete themedical procedure and return the contaminated needle back to the guardor end cap that is safe and easy to do. This is accomplished by simplyinserting the needle back into the end cap without holding the end capand with a quick twist serparating the adhesive from the surface.

This invention is not to be limited by the embodiment shown in thedrawings and described in the description which is given by way ofexample and not of limitation but only in accordance with the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hypodermic syringe needle guardcomprising;shield means for shielding said needle; said shield meanscomprising;a hollow cylindrical cap having an open end and a closed endadapted to fit around said needle and be frictionally retained on asyringe; said closed end of said hollow cylindrical cap terminating in aflared flattened surface forming a base; adhesive means bonded to saidflattened end surface of said hollow cylindrical cap; removing andreplacing means on said shield for removing and replacing said shield;whereby said hollow cylindrical cap may be removed from said syringeneedle and attached to any convenient available surface for easyreplacement while keeping the hands away from said needle.
 2. The needleguard according to claim 1 in which said adhesive is selected from thegroup consisting of hot melt resin or a rubber base tape.
 3. Ahypodermic syringe needle guard comprising;shield means for shieldingsaid needle; said shield means comprising;a hollow cylindrical caphaving an open end and a closed end adapted to fit around said needleand be frictionally retained on a syringe; a hollow cylindrical sleeveslidably retained on said syringe, said sleeve when extended surroundingsaid needle with or without said cylindrical cap; whereby saidcylindrical sleeve may be retracted to expose said hollow cylindricalcap for removal from said syringe needle and attachment to anyconvenient available surface for easy replacement while keeping the handaway from said needle.
 4. The needle guard according to claim 3 in whichsaid hollow sleeve has an aperture at its end remote from said syringethrough which said cylindrical cap may pass; and an adhesively retainedmembrane covering said hole for sealing said hollowing sleeve aroundsaid cylindrical cap and needle until ready to use; whereby saidmembrane may be peeled off for use.
 5. The needle guard according toclaim 3 including a circumferential rib on the interior surface of saidsleeve for frictionally retaining said sleeve on said syringe.
 6. Theneedle guard according to claim 3 in which;said closed end of saidhollowing cylindrical cap terminates in a flared flattened surfaceforming a base; said adhesive means being bonded to said flattened endsurface of said hollow cylindrical cap; whereby said hollow cylindricalcap may be removed from said syringe needle and attached to anyconvenient available surface for easy replacement while keeping thehands away form said needle.
 7. The needle guard according to claim 6 inwhich said adhesive is selected from the group consisting of hot meltresin or a rubber based tape.